Linked lists are an essential data structure in computer programming, providing
a flexible way to store and manipulate data. In the C programming language,
insertion in a linked list is a common operation that allows us to add elements at
various positions within the list. In this article, we will explore the process of
inserting nodes into a linked list using C language, step by step.
Outline:
Introduction to Linked Lists
Understanding Node Structure
Creating an Empty Linked List
Inserting a Node at the Beginning
Inserting a Node at the End
Inserting a Node at a Specific Position
Handling Edge Cases
Time and Space Complexity Analysis
Conclusion
FAQs
, Introduction to Linked Lists
A linked list is a linear data structure consisting of nodes, where each node
contains a data element and a pointer to the next node. Unlike arrays, linked
lists provide dynamic memory allocation, enabling efficient insertion and
deletion of elements. In C language, linked lists are implemented using pointers.
Understanding Node Structure
In C, a node structure is defined to hold the data and the pointer to the next
node. It typically looks like this:
The ‘data’ field represents the actual value stored in the node, while the ‘next’
field points to the next node in the list.
Creating an Empty Linked List
To begin, we need to create an empty linked list. This can be achieved by
initializing a pointer to the first node as ‘NULL’. In C, it looks like this: